Five Stage Interview Structure: Review and the New

THE REVIEW:
Since the first part of Chapter 7 was a review about the skills that we have previously covered, I decided to reflect on what I think my weaknesses will be as a counselor with regarding the skills that we have covered.

1. Empathy: I am a complete empath. I have no problem being in someone else's shoes. My difficulty will lie in separating myself from the client. If I see them cry, I will cry. I feel that I will take my work home with me and have some of my own anxiety from worrying about a client. Finding a way to let go, and be present for myself, my family and my other clients will be crucial in maintaining good relationships throughout.

2. BLS: Listening, presence, and intentional interviewing will provide the challenge of holding in my own input. I am naturally a fixer, like I mentioned in class and I want to tackle a problem head on and make everyone happy and feel better. It will take some practice in holding back my suggestions and need to "fix" and just focus on the BLS.

Upon examining these challenges as a counselor, I can't help but note that school counseling would be the right choice for me. Recognizing my struggles with tendencies of being overly empathetic and even sympathetic, I don't see myself as being a good therapist, or marriage and family counselor. I know now that I should stick to school. The realization that one is on the right path is a good place to be. :)

THE NEW:

As mentioned previously, I am a fixer, so I am pleased to find that this chapter covers the five stages that includes story and strengths, goals, restory and action. The text mentions Reality Therapy. I am interested in using this as a technique as I think it will reach young adults. I just recently met the garden educator at the UT gardens and he is beginning a horticulture therapy program. I love the idea of using real world situations and scenarios to gain access, build rapport and use skills gained to apply to other avenues of life.

Next, in the story and strength and goal setting stages, the book states, "the positive asset search should be part of this stage of the interview." This implies going back to the wellness model and it never hurts to focus on someones strengths. I thought this kind of overlaps with some of the suggestions in action-concluding. Using creativity and homework, role playing and even visualizations and meditation can lead a client to discovering their own positive attributes and even help them set their own goals. The counselor may see a strength and see a clear path to a goal but the client may see a root cause and an alternative goal.

Again, I really like the tables offerend that give sample interviews. They make the skills accessible and having the specific wordage is helpful for reference when we do our practice days.